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1 month ago | 
wbfo.org | Jay Moran
On Friday at 7:30 pm, "Considering Matthew Shepard" will be performed at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Shepard, an openly gay 21-year-old college student, died in 1998 after he was beaten and tied to a fence in Wyoming. Garrett Martin, Organist and Director of Music at the church, recalls many of the details. He was 12 at the time. "I remember that feeling, growing up in a conservative Southern Baptist family in a small town in Tennessee.
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1 month ago | 
wbfo.org | Jay Moran
Spending time in Karl Smith's Allentown workshop, it's easy to be captured by his enthusiasm for his invention: Truest North Compass. "This compass takes you where you actually want to go, some place you actually care about," he explained. More a "storytelling device," Smith's invention is programmed to always direct its owner toward their favorite spot on Earth. Of his early customers, 15 or so couples have used it as part of the wedding-engagement stories.
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2 months ago | 
wbfo.org | Jay Moran
For most of his life, art has been a passion for artist Jay Carrier. Now that passion is finding extensive interest, with exhibitions in New York City and Buffalo showcasing his work. Born on the Six Nations of the Grand River, Carrier relocated with his family to Niagara Falls as a young boy. Both locations have influenced his art. "I had a great upbringing. And, I knew intimately the rivers I swam in and fished in," Carrier said.
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Nov 26, 2024 | 
wbfo.org | Jay Moran
While every photo may tell a story of a select subject, the photos taken by Yves-Richard Blanc are also a self-revelation. "About three years ago, I got very, very sick. I had a massive stroke with brain bleeds. I can say that I was really close to death," Blanc shared.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
wbfo.org | Jay Moran
While the name Leonardo da Vinci may be well known, the depth of his imagination is not easily understood. "The first thing that became clear to me was how little about him I actually knew," David McMahon told WBFO during a recent visit. That understanding changed as the producer, writer and director explored 6,000 pages of notes left behind by the Italian painter, scientist and thinker. PBS audiences can view the results when "Leonardo da Vinci" airs November 18-19.
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Nov 7, 2024 | 
wbfo.org | Jay Moran
It wasn't until age 43 when author K.E. Semmel was first diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. He had been living with its impact most of his life. "I've always wondered, ever since I was a kid, why I had these tics. Nobody else in my family had them," Semmel said during a visit to WBFO to discuss his novel "The Book of Losman.""And so all along I always wondered why I had these tics. I had no idea why.
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Oct 17, 2024 | 
wbfo.org | Jay Moran
With its location in rural Cattaraugus County and its status as one of the smallest schools in Division One basketball, Saint Bonaventure University's on-court success is an unlikely story. Filmmaker Mike Camoin, a 1988 graduate of the university, has been working for years to tell that story in the documentary "Brown and White: The Heart of Bona's Basketball." A sneak peek of the film will take place Friday at 4 p.m. in the Dresser Auditorium of the Murphy Professional Building.
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Sep 30, 2024 | 
wbfo.org | Jay Moran
Community theaters abound throughout the region, some with long traditions, like Aurora Players, which dates back to 1934 while Evangola Community Theater is just getting started. Now, twelve have come together under a combined effort called WNY ACTS! (Alliance of Community Theaters). "We're together talking about what we can share," Laurie Oravec said during a recent interview with WBFO. "And sharing resources might include things like microphones or lights or props.
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Sep 18, 2024 | 
wbfo.org | Jay Moran
On the lists for the National Book Award and the Booker Award, "James: A Novel," is a retelling of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from the perspective of the enslaved Jim. It's the 24th novel from author Percival Everett. "I'm not, probably, the first person to say he's one of the great American writers you've never heard of," suggested Christina Milletti, Associate Professor of English at the University at Buffalo and Executive Director of the Buffalo Humanities Institute.
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Sep 5, 2024 | 
wbfo.org | Jay Moran
The driving force behind the Jamestown Dance Festival is Sukanya Burman whose dance company will be among those performing this weekend at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts. The path to Jamestown for Burman is unlikely and fascinating. Her professional career in India began in the world of science, but it was dancing that brought her to the United States. Now, the dance company that bears her name is exposing Chautauqua County to a cultural form that dates back 5,000 years.
